Comments on: Moto Guzzi Norge 1200 Review

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 23:37:30 +0000

Guess I’m a dinosaur, as I still love my 73/74 Moto Guzzi 850 Eldorado, which is as pleasant a ride as I’ve ever had after almost 37 years of ownership since I bought it new. The snow white Eldorado still attracts admiring comments from passersby and car drivers at traffic lights, and can still pull stumps if needed. A pair of electric/air horns sometimes helps to get the attention of a dozing car driver in traffic, and saved my skin the day after I instelled them in 1974. .

But, I most enjoy puttering around town at 30 mph and 1,500 rpm in 5th gear, and increase speed without needing to downshift if I wish. I sometimes ride with a group at highway speeds, too, with no worry about keeping up. Lots of grunt there.

The major expense is oil changes and the occasional tire replacement, though I had to replace a dealer installed aftermarket “other brand” clutch which failed at the 45,000 mile mark; so I replaced it with a superior “bonded” clutch last year. The heads have never been off, though I check the valve adjustments every five years or so, and use regular unleaded gas in it, though it calls for old-style premium fuel.

With minimal maintenance and reasonable riding habits, a Guzzi should last a half century, at least.

By: Mira Montez

Mira Montez — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 09:39:12 +0000

oh, yes.

By: David Stanford

David Stanford — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 01:02:12 +0000

I have looked at, and sat on a 2011 Norge recently, while out of town. I like everything I see about it, but wondered about engine heat issues. I live in the sunny south, and wonder if this would be a good bike for someone who lives in a predominantly hot (often very hot) climate. My concerns would be uncomfortable heat on the legs, as well as overheating in stop and go traffic. All of my bikes in recent years have been liquid cooled, so I’m a little leary about changing. But that Norge has stolen my heart. Please help.

By: Stan

Stan — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:50:23 +0000

Kevin – Fear not. I HAD a 2007 Ducati ST3 (last year of production). Mine was the stock, not the ‘S’ model. Comfort-wise I had no complaints with it. It did dive a lot in the front end on hard braking though. The biggest problem is Ducati can’t master the fuel delivery. O2 sensors choke the bike in its stock form, so your only option was to get tge performance exhaust and ECU upgrade. Well, I was not in the mood to spend another $2k on that. Throttle response was VERY jerky. I had to go into corners in a lower gear to have the revs up and the motor working. Taking a street corner turn in second gear was DANGEROUS as the throttle would either not engage, or it would engage too abruptly, causing the bike to stand up during cornering. I got rid of it in less than a year and traded it on a Honda VFR 800 Interceptor and coun’t be happier (it came with GIVI hard cases).

Too bad you didn’t wait a bit. The 2010 MG Norge GT has now received 4 valves per cylinder as expected a few years ago. They also redesigned the centerstand. No more scrapes and it has more leverage for easier lifting of the bike. They have also fixed that quirky gauge cluster supposedly. I hope that means you can read the LCD better. I have to go check one out.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:00:06 +0000

The horsepower on the Norge is 95hp. The 71hp is on the 850cc model available in europe. The Moto Guzzi site has the correct specs for this 1200 model. As a owner of the Norge I can tell you from experience it is not quite the sport model my Monster 900S is but it is quite capable of handling twisty backroads. I owned a Triumph Sprint ST prior to the Norge. While a bike like the Sprint is more sport oriented than the Norge the Guzzi is a more capable touring bike. The seating position is more upright and the saddle is wider for the rider and passenger. The electric windshield is a nice feature and offers adequate protection when in full upright position. The Norge is also has better aero design. On windy days you will not fight sudden lunges from cross winds and can simply lean into the wind. My Sprint would abruptly blow across lanes from such winds. Some reviews have complained about the luggage. I have have no issues with opening or closing the luggage and it is easily removed. The top box latch was redesigned after failures in transit. I own the new design and no issues. The sound of the v-twin is sublime. The only complaint I had about the Norge was the tendency to grind the center stand on hard left turns. The factory suspension setting is rather soft and after adjusting to Guzzi specs for medium loads I have had no center stand issues even with my wife in tow. While there are other choices in this class the Norge catches more attention at the gas station than other bikes. I quite often ride with several Ducati and Aprilla riders and the Norge gets the attention. They are a rather rare sight. Maintenance is easy enough to do yourself and if you do not have a local Guzzi dealer any good v-twin mechanic can tackle the Guzzi v-twin. I suggest test riding one if you can. I had my narrowed by choices to the other bikes when I tripped over a Norge at a local dealer. One test ride sold me as this was as close to the Ducati ST3 as I was going to get (sigh, I still cannot believe that quite making the ST3). RIde safe.